Brooks: TCHO-beer pairings and four other gifts for beer lovers

When it comes to beer lovers and the holidays, there's one obvious thing to tie up with a ribbon -- and brewers and specialty vendors are happy to help you choose. Here are five ideas:

1. Samuel Adams' annual Winter Classics 12-pack includes six different beers, a few of which are only available in this package. For an added treat, they've paired up with TCHO, the San Francisco chocolatier, to create a special beer lovers' chocolate box designed to go with the Winter Classics pack. Find it at www.tcho.com.

2. Shmaltz Brewing's Holiday Gift Pack includes eight different He'Brew beers, some quite rare, along with a custom glass and candles to make your own Beer Menorah.

3. When it comes to gifts, size can make an already good gift great. Anchor Brewing offers magnums of its delicious Christmas Ale, and Stone Brewing sells three-liter bottles of Double Bastard, an imperial version of its Arrogant Bastard.

4. BevMo offers several exclusive sampler packs. This year's Holiday Hand Crafted Beer set includes eight seasonal beers, and World Brews has a selection of imports. It also carries special gift packs from Chimay and Duvel that include a signature glass along with the beer.

5. Cost Plus does mix-packs of its own, including a nine-pack of holiday Winter Brews, and a 10-pack of imported Beers of the World. Its Samuel Smith Selection Box adds a logo pint glass with which to sample three bottles from the Old Brewery at Tadcaster in Yorkshire, England.